


Betrayal

by starkind



Series: Amalgam Verse [1]
Category: Amalgam Comics, Batman (Movies - Nolan), DC Cinematic Universe, DCU (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Angry Kissing, Angst and Porn, Bruce Angst, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dark Bruce Wayne, Emotional Hurt, Frottage, Implied/Referenced Torture, Interrogation, M/M, Male Slash, Military Backstory, Non-Graphic Violence, Porn with Feelings, Tony Feels, Trust Issues, Weapons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-12 15:04:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4483925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkind/pseuds/starkind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trust is a fragile good, just like love.<br/>If one gets broken, what else is there to rely upon?<br/>Tony Stark does not place confidence in many things anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I just found out about Amalgam Comics, where Marvel and DC co-published titles and merged their characters. In 1996, Amalgam Age of Comics (a Marvel Comics collection) published 'Bruce Wayne, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.' 
> 
> This almost caused my brain to short-circuit on Friday night. Must. Write. Fic. Because a crossover that is... *gasp* (kinda) canon? Be still my beating heart! Admittedly though, the Tony Stark in Amalgam is a poor cripple in a wheelchair, so, no, I'll stick to MCU Tony here, for reasons. 
> 
> IF I had to put this fic into a somewhat movie-related timeline, it is supposed to take place after the first Avengers movie, but before CA: TWS. 
> 
> For a quite short piece, it is rather heavily inspired by the song “Ready to fight” by Roby Fayer feat. Tom Gefen  
> (OST Assassin's Creed: Unity)

“Bruce Wayne, you're under arrest. Keep your hands where we can see them.”

Until then, it had been a relaxed Friday evening. At not even 7 pm, seven armed SHIELD agents, clad in dark business suits, barged into the leisure area of Tony Stark's Tower in New York. From their place on the ginormous designer couch, Bruce remained seated and stoic. His fiancé, on the other hand, had sprung up, more than incensed at the daring interruption.

A call for his AI to get rid of their unwanted guests brought no response. Somehow SHIELD had managed to override Jarvis and all of his safety measures. Tony felt a mixture of fear and ire curl up from the bottom of his core. “Cut it out, fellas, that's some high-class trespassing right here. You can bet on the fact that I'll have your asses sued all the way to Washington before any of you are even able to say uncle.”

One agent at least had the decency to take off his shades as he stepped up right in front of him.  
“Mister Stark, these are orders by the council. Disobedience will result in an arrest of your person.”  
He was half Tony's age, with a good 6 inches on him. It prompted Bruce to rise from his spot.

In an instant, six muzzles of semi-automatics were directed at his chest.  
“Don't move, Sir. We are under orders to shoot in case of any resistance.”  
Tony's eyes flickered from the guns back to the eyes of the agent across from him.

“The fuck is going on here? If you're not gone in the next two minutes, there'll be hell to pay.”  
Bruce cast him a hooded glance. He held his wrists out to an agent and a waiting pair of handcuffs.  
“Don't.”  
  
Tony stared at him in incomprehensible shock as the metal clicked shut. For a man his size, Bruce had rather delicate wrists; paired with long, elegant fingers. Frozen to the spot, Tony watched in stunned silence how they took him away in their midst without any further preamble. Bruce remained perfectly calm; still barefooted and dressed in a pair of sweatpants and linen t-shirt.  
  
He threw a final glance back over his shoulder.  
The small smirk that played on his lips was terse.  
“Stay safe.”

Tony's chest heaved with adrenaline, fear, and anger.  
“Like hell! I demand a meeting with Nick Fury!”  
The doors to his private elevator slid shut without any sound.

All alone, Tony glanced around, as if waking from a bad dream. The StarkPad still lay open where Bruce had read an article about green energy and the shift of nuclear power sourcing. Quick to grab shoes, jacket and his phone, Tony hurried down to the private parking area of the Tower.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suffice to say, I haven't read the comic (yet; might try to get my hands on it, if possible), so all background information on Colonel Bruce Wayne is straight off the internet (wikipedia and dc wiki in equal shares)

SHIELD headquarters was quiet as usual.

After Tony had raced his R8 through New York City, he sat in Director Nick Fury's office no ten minutes later. Clawing his fingers around the sharp edges of the armrest, Tony had to wait fifteen minutes until the tall man in his leather coat entered and took a seat opposite from him. As the billionaire was about to open his mouth, Fury held up a hand.

“Shut it, Stark and have a look at this here first.”  
He threw a manila folder over the table. It was labeled _'Wayne, Bruce / Colonel, Agent of SHIELD'._  
For an indefinite amount of time, everything swam right in front of Tony's eyes.

Nick Fury remained as unemotional as ever as he presented him with the blunt truth.

18-year-old Bruce Wayne had enlisted in SHIELD after his parents, both of which spies, had been brutally killed by an organization called HYDRA. Numb, Tony thumbed through the many pieces of paper. Then his eyes stayed glued to a small picture attached to the folder with a paperclip. A picture of a very young Bruce Wayne with sharp features, short hair, and ice-cold eyes.

“I took the boy in together with Sergeant Rock, and trained him myself.”

Fury rose from his chair. “He moved up the ranks faster than anyone else before him, hell-bent on getting revenge for his parents. Until SHIELD was nothing more to him than a tool to annihilate each and every HYDRA member out there. Wayne would stop at nothing to achieve his goal. He's a lethal killing machine.”

Through the haze of his many, jumbled thoughts, Tony raised his head to look at the bald man who meanwhile stood with his back on him. “I'm not having any of this - this is bullshit, okay? I've known Bruce for many years. He's nothing like the picture you're trying to draw up here.”

 _The soft-spoken man with his astute, hazel eyes, whom Tony loved to wake up to in the mornings._  
_The serious man whose whole face lit up as he broke into a rare smile whenever Tony made him laugh._  
_The passionate and caring man who gave more than he took during their exquisite lovemaking._

With a disgusted expression, Tony slapped the manila folder shut, threw it across the table and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Fury clasped his hands behind his back and turned to give him a look over his shoulder. It bordered on condescending. The genius inventor gnawed on his bottom lip and narrowed his eyes.

“He was about to become director of SHIELD, if it wasn't for me stopping him.”  
Tony's stared right at the spot between Fury's eyebrows, unblinking.  
“So what? Creating your own demons again, Nick? Wouldn't be the first time.”

His petulant behavior got him another patronizing, one-eyed glare.

“The number of times Wayne has killed in cold blood to get advantage on HYDRA in the past shows he's got no more soul whatsoever. Stop being pathetic, Stark. Rather be glad we've found out about the whole thing before there would've been more harm done to anyone. Including you.”

At that, Tony snorted out in spiteful laughter.

“Why yes, cause he'd totally slit my throat while I'm blowing his dick. For reals, Nick, even before I've become part of your super secret boyband against my will, you've been staking me out. So why all the hassle now? Why not earlier? I've been dating Bruce for over two years, without you giving me any kind of heads up whatsoever!”

Fury turned and walked back over to his desk. He did not sit down and loomed over his guest. “Despite what you think, you're not that important to me on a daily basis, Stark. And what you're doing in between the sheets with whoever couldn't be further from my personal interest either.” Tony also rose in one brisk motion. His fists were clenched tight at his sides.

“Where is he? I want to speak to him.”  
Fury glowered at him.  
“Being interrogated.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even if Nick Fury doesn't give head ups, I do: Mentions of interrogative methods/torture in this chapter. Not too graphic/detailed, but read at your own discretion, please.

When Tony fastened his gaze on the tied-down figure that was his fiancé in a chair, hands behind his back and surrounded by five agents, he nearly punched a fist through the bulletproof glass partition. Seething along, Tony glared at the unperturbed bald man next to him, dark eyes ablaze. “What the fuck, Nick, that's not standard procedure.” Fury just stood, arms akimbo and his gaze straight ahead.  
  
“Wayne's no standard suspect.”

He pressed a button to which they were able to listen in on the conversation. Bruce either gave defiant or monosyllabic answers or just sneered up at his interrogators' faces. Unbeknownst to him, his fiancé on the other side broke into a proud smirk. Bruce could be a real pain in the butt when it came to verbal sparring; it was one of the things Tony loved and at the same time hated most about him.

“Whom are you working for?”  
  
“No one.”

“You've been trying to hack into the mainframe to get confidential information.”  
  
_“Trying?”_

One agent went to grab him by the jaw as another curled a fist into Wayne's hair and pulled his head back. Bruce's Adam's apple stood out at the strained position, bobbing, as he swallowed hard multiple times. Alarmed, Tony banged a palm flat against the glass, to try and get the agents off of Bruce's back, but to no avail. Before he was able to grab the microphone and vent his anger, the interrogation reached a turning point.  
  
“You're working for HYDRA, you dirty traitor.”  
“NO!”

A sudden burst of rage shot through Bruce's body and gave him unforeseen strength. He managed to shake off the chokehold two agents had on him, sprung to his still bare feet and flexed his arms and chest with a frenzied scream. As soon as he had managed to free himself from his restraints, one of the agents was quick to point a taser at him. Without warning, he aimed straight for the chest and fired one shot.

Tony had to watch in helplessness how the Gothamite crumpled down to the floor in a boneless heap. “Swear to God I'll rip all of your balls off once this is over.” Nick Fury neither batted an eye at Stark's growled-out threat or the commotion inside the room. "He still doesn't know when to back down. Goddamn bastard."

The agents strapped Bruce's limp body to the table, covered his face with a cloth, and began to pour water over his face. At first, Wayne did not display any outward reaction to the near-drowning experience, but the waterboarding technique eventually got him to thrash in his confines. Beyond himself with rage, Tony Stark swung around to the man by his side.  
  
“FUCK, NO, tell them to stop, Nick! They'll kill him!”  
After several more moments, Fury simply bent forward to press a comm button.  
“That's enough.”

By now, Bruce had become completely unresponsive. There were bubbles rising through his open mouth filled with water, and it was then that Tony Stark had enough. In a flash, he hurled himself at the door and barged in on the interrogation. It caused another moment of distraction, and it was all the unarmored genius needed. He made use of his Wing Chun black belt techniques until he got his hands on a semi-automatic.  
  
“Move away from him. Now.”  
He unlocked the gun with a flick of the thumb. His eyes darted to the motionless man on the table.  
“Bruce? Make a noise if you can hear me.”

Faint coughing was his answer. The three agents who were still conscious put their hands above their heads as Tony trained the gun on them with a vicious glint in his eyes. Behind him, the distinct figure of Nick Fury appeared in the doorway. The corners of his mouth were turned downwards. Tony stepped back to widen the radius of people he kept at gunpoint.

“You're making a mistake, Stark.”  
Sweat trickled down Tony's neck as he inched closer to the table and began to loosen the restraints.  
“Its what I excel in, in case you didn't know.”

He brushed off the wet cloth and relished to see and hear Bruce taking a deep breath. Wayne twisted his head sideways to retch out a mouthful of water before he tore off the bonds around his arms and legs as if they were made out of cardboard. When their eyes met for the first time, the Gothamite frowned upon seeing the familiar countenance above. With shaking legs he got to his feet. Tony eyed him in concern.

“You okay, babe? Can you walk?”  
Tony's nervousness crept into his voice, and his arms shook as he pointed the gun at Fury.  
“Move it, Fury, I'm fucking serious.”

Next to him, Bruce towered at his side; tall, dark, and soaked from head down to his torso.  
“You've heard the man, Nick.”  
His former mentor stared at them for a split second before he did step aside and let them pass.

As soon as they had made it out of the secluded section, Bruce made a grasp for the gun in Tony's hand.  
“It ends here.”  
Too stunned to understand what was going on, Tony found himself levered off his feet seconds later.

After the ungentle encounter with the floor, Stark looked up at his fiancé in open confusion and hurt.  
“Why, Bruce? What's going on? Why don't you...”  
Wayne pressed his lips together tight and scanned the hallways in front of him.

“I'm sorry, Tony.”  
Sirens began to wail out in the distance.  
The last thing the genius billionaire saw was a flash of the handgun's grip.

Then everything went black around him.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Tony woke an indefinite amount of time later, back at Stark Tower, to a concerned looking Pepper.  
  
“I received a call from Maria Hill, telling me to pick you up. God, Tony, what happened?” He made a groggy attempt to sit up and probed the swollen area at his left temple. “Wish I knew, Pep. All I know is the whole situation's FUBAR, that's what.” The glass of water mixed with Aspirin she handed him was empty in three long gulps. “Apparently Bruce is a killing machine on the run, trained by none other than Eyepatch himself.”

Pepper Potts slid onto the edge of the bed to listen to the story Tony told her. “I need to find him, speak to him, find out what's going on. Something's not adding up here.” The redhead eyed him in sympathy. She reached out to brush gentle fingers against his bruise. “What if he's going to hurt you again? If Bruce is as dangerous and unpredictable as they said...”  
  
Tony shook his head with vehemence and proceeded to swing his legs over the rim of the mattress.   
“This has got nothing to do with SHIELD, the Avengers, my suits, or money. It's about him and me.”   
His former personal assistant went to draw a hot bath for him, to get rid of the pounding headache behind his temples.

As he lay in the semi-darkness of his master bathroom, Tony leaned back and cast thoughtful eyes upon the ceiling. He wondered if there had been signs for him to see, to notice in advance something was wrong. Maybe all he had been was lovesick and gullible, blinded by passion. Furious, the genius billionaire brushed the shower gel bottle off the rim and relished its crashing sound on the tiles.

Tony had long since been convinced Bruce and him were a match made in heaven. If he was honest with himself, the two of them had been too good to be true; with his reputation and juvenile promiscuity still preceding him. However, the Gothamite never cared about his past and only spoke about their future. For once, Tony had thought he had found The One to spend the rest of his days with.  
  
_Had?_  
  
Despite everything, Tony Stark was still madly in love with the person he believed to be Bruce Wayne.

After he had thanked Pepper and sent her back home, he continued to soak in the jacuzzi for another half an hour, mind running in circles. Then Tony eventually got dressed and went on updating Jarvis' firewalls and defense systems, after SHIELD's security breach from the previous evening. His AI also got told to do some research on the Gothamite with his mysterious background.

“Records of the years 1995 and 1996 are sketchy and incomplete, Sir. They say that Mister Wayne has attended law school right before he joined SHIELD, and became the right-hand man of Director Fury. He turned him into one of the best-trained master strategists and combat fighters of the organization.” Stark paced back and forth between his mainframe and the panorama windows of his penthouse.  
  
“So what's been causing the rift between them?” The AI took a few moments to draw up the required information. “Apparently, Colonel Wayne was about to turn SHIELD into his own, private army to make HYDRA pay the price for killing his parents. Director Fury had him discharged, once he attempted to make use of his parents' financial legacy to own SHIELD and take over Fury's position.“

More old documents and photos flashed across the screens. They documented well how Bruce had trained himself to the peak of human condition, and much more of an effective soldier and diplomat than anyone would assume him to be. Least of all not his unsuspecting fiancé of many months. All of a sudden, Tony felt nothing but betrayed. Betrayed, alone, and left behind.

Pepper was busy CEO'ing his company. Thor was back in Asgard.  
Banner and Barton had flown the coop right after the Chitauri clean-up.  
Steve was still adjusting to the new world, and where Natasha was, Tony had no idea.

“Jarvis, I want you to try and locate Bruce's position.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

When Tony came face to face with his renegade lover three days after the incident at SHIELD, he was in his armor, and Bruce was clad in an all-black ensemble with matching gloves.  In an abandoned alley of the Narrows in Gotham City, Wayne lowered the muzzle of his gun to the ground as soon as he recognized his intruder. The expression on his face was neutral if a bit vexed.

“You shouldn't be here.”  
With a smooth whoosh, the suit's faceplate opened. Tony pulled a lopsided grimace.  
“Agreed. Call me a fool. But I guess that's what you've been doing for quite some time already, eh?”

The Gothamite locked his semi-automatic and shoved it back into the shoulder holster.  
“Stop it right there.”  
Inside his 6'6'' armor, Tony for once towered over him. He put his arms akimbo and sneered down.

“Who was I to you, Bruce? The idiot who could get you access to Stark Labs and everything? Help you obtain all the intel on my tech, my company? Tell me though, were you planning on killing me off towards the end as well? Get rid of me before the final implementation of your plans? Take over Stark Industries to add to your neat little conglomerate?” Tony paused to take a deep, nasal breath, ground his jaw and looked down.    
  
"Or just someone stupid enough to think somebody like you could ever love him."  
The faintest flicker of unease darted over Bruce's unemotional countenance as he crossed his arms.  
“That's not true. None of it.”  
  
Tony Stark's face twisted in anger. Without warning, he held up the repulsor of his right hand.  
The ignition sound echoed through the night, and the bluish tinge illuminated Wayne's face.  
“Fuck what's true! Give me one damn good reason not to blast you to pieces right here and now!”  
  
Bruce did not even blink as he stared down the palm repulsor a few inches away from his head.  
“There's none.”  
Tony's arm began to quiver ever so slightly, and he bit his lip in anguish. Then he closed his eyes.  
  
“FUCK!”  
  
The repulsor blast hit the wall next to Bruce's head with a distinctive boom. Dust and debris rained down, to land everywhere on Wayne's shoulders and in his hair. Still, the Gothamite did not move. “Damn you, Bruce, damn you to hell!” Tony lowered his head and fought against a wave of anxiety bubbling up inside of him. “I can't even kill you, even though you're killing me.” His voice was flat and defeated.

With a slow exhale of breath, Bruce let his arms sink. “I'm sorry, Tony.” A scream of frustration escaped Stark's throat as he slammed Wayne backward into the wall. “I've heard that one just coupl'a days ago, Bruce - and it doesn't mean SHIT, even if you keep on saying it!” As his head connected with the concrete, the Gothamite showed the first signs of a human reaction.

He flinched and blinked up into the enraged face of his fiancé which was framed by the red-golden armor. Unyielding metal fingers of the Iron Man suit dug into the flesh of his shoulders. “I've never wanted to hurt you, despite what you may think.” Large, dark-brown eyes darted within his, full of mistrust and despair. “Tell me it wasn't a lie, Bruce. You and me. Swear to me. Swear on your life!”

Bruce Wayne swallowed. His cool, hazel eyes found a fixed spot upon Tony's countenance.  
“It won't be of enough worth.”  
Puzzled, Stark lessened his grip on his upper arms. A frown found its way between his brows.

“For what?”  
The Gothamite briefly closed his eyes. When he reopened them, something indistinct lay in them.  
“For something that means everything to me.”

No more than three seconds later, Iron Man's armor pressed him further into the wall. Hidden from the harsh neon light of the nearby street, Tony Stark's mouth attacked Bruce Wayne's lips with a hungry fervor as if there was no tomorrow.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some porn! And, uh, feels. Porn and feels is a good mix, innit?

From his spot on the small cot in the back of the room, Tony cast his lifeless armor a lazy glance. Its many pieces were distributed on the dirty, beige-colored carpet in the corner of the apartment. Once they had managed to separate long enough in between kissing, Bruce led him over to a dingy building. There, the final barriers between them had come apart, right after the door had fallen into its lock.

As soon as Tony had freed himself from his armor, Bruce was quick to strip him off his black, neoprene undersuit. The fact that Stark had gone commando underneath caused Wayne to growl with desire, and his cock to give an impatient twitch. With frantic need, the genius inventor tugged and tore at his lover's clothes, until they tumbled onto the bed naked; interwoven in each other's arms.

The moment their erections touched, both of them groaned out in pleasure. Tony threw his head back when Bruce climbed on top of him and began to rub their lengths together in a steady rhythm. “God, Bruce...” Tony reached up to cup Wayne's head and drew him close for an open-mouthed kiss. Their tongues fought, probed, and explored; causing Bruce to give a deep, guttural moan.

His fingers went from cupping Tony's cheek to run along his naked torso, all the way down to grab the shorter man's buttocks. In return, Tony hooked his legs around Bruce's lower back, trying to archive more friction. When he looked up, Tony saw intense concentration and barely contained lust mingle on Bruce's face, illuminated by the blue hues of his ARC.

Wayne's slicked-back hair had come loose and fell into his forehead with each rhythmic movement of his hips. Stark wanted to carve the image and the feeling deep into his mind for eternity. “... I'm gonna...” Spit and sweat glistened on Tony's upper lip. Bruce's mouth moved over to ghost along his earlobe. “Yes. Come for me.” The heady, dark voice of his fiancé was all it took.

Tony arched his back upwards and spent himself with a drawn-out moan, Bruce's name on his lips. No more than a second later, Wayne followed him over the edge with a low, shuddering grunt. His fingers pressed hard into the flesh of Tony's hips, who in turn grabbed Bruce's firm butt and squeezed, until he collapsed on top of him, exhausted. For several heartbeats, neither of them said a word.

Warm, sticky liquid ran down their stomachs and into the mattress; yet neither of them made a move to get up from their position. Bruce raised his head from where he had buried it next to Tony's and regarded the latter's sated countenance. “Love you, B.” It came out so blunt and so simple that Wayne had no choice but to reach for his fiancé's hand and press a kiss onto the silver band on his ring finger.

Tony opened his eyes; eyes almost like black orbs in the poor lighting and the post-orgasm daze he still was coming down from. He smiled up at the Gothamite. “Too mushy?” With care, Wayne detached himself to lay down beside him and used the blanket to wipe away the remains of their encounter. Then he extended an arm for Stark to snuggle up against his chest. “Better than blasting my head off.”  
  
Tony snorted, only to yawn right after, and splayed his fingers across the scarred, muscular chest. “That would've been a shame indeed; seeing what I would've missed out upon.” Mutual silence erupted, though it was not an unpleasant one. Eyes closed, Tony listened to the quiet, even breathing of the man by his side. “I hate to be nagging, but there's still so much I don't get.”

The blanket rustled as Bruce shifted. He did, however, not make a move to look at his fiancé. “When we first got together, I never suspected you to get involved with SHIELD at all.” Bruce's fingers ran over Tony's bare upper arm. “But then, after Afghanistan, things started to change.” Tony nodded against his chest. He remembered all the uproar of 2009 as if it had been yesterday.

“So that's why we've never gone the official route after my proposal. And here I was, left thinking you're maybe just paranoid about all the hoopla over two gay billionaires wanting to get married.” The left corner of Bruce's mouth twitched in its try for a smile, albeit a grim one. “Anyone who dares to say something against us would have a lot to answer for.” His clipped, hard tone brought Tony back to the topic at hand.  
  
“So what Fury's told me is true. You've been working for SHIELD, back in the days.”

“Yes.”  
  
“Going on missions for them, ready to kill.”  
  
“Yes.”

“Fury said he discharged you because you wanted his position – his head on a silver platter.”  
Silence. For a second, Tony feared he had overstepped the border, all mind-numbing sex aside.  
“Nick's been a good teacher, but he never really understood my motives. HYDRA needs to die.”

Seeing the cozy mood was definitely over, both began to scramble into a sitting position. Bruce was the first to grope for his discarded underwear and socks on the floor. Tony chose to remain sitting propped up against the headboard, cross-legged, blanket balled in his lap. For the first time, he noticed the absence of Bruce's own engagement ring as the Gothamite began to get dressed.

“HYDRA's been dead ever since the end of WWII, no need to chase after old ghosts there, Bruce.” Stark continued to watch him, though with an almost mournful look on his face. Wayne did not seem to notice his bout of sentimentality, so Tony slung back the cover back and got up as well. Bruce's controlled voice got him to look up from where he was fishing for his undersuit.

“If only. Ever since the death of its founder, HYDRA's reemerged in various forms all over the globe. They are recruiting and training people as we speak. Not even SHIELD is able to stop it.” The Gothamite's appreciative eyes followed the lean body with its glowing ARC in the middle, as Tony pulled the fabric up to his waist. Stark stopped dressing for a moment and spread his bare arms in a deductive gesture.

“So you are on our side after all. Why didn't you let the old Eyepatch know? Eat some humble pie, blame it on youth and hormones or whatever, let bygones be bygones, and join SHIELD again?” After a glimpse at his watch, the Gothamite slipped into his heavy combat boots. “Because SHIELD is not what it seems, Tony, trust me.” Said man wiggled back into his overall and zipped it shut with a resounding noise.

He looked up as realization about the true meaning of Bruce's statement set in. “Wait, are you saying that... ” Bruce remained silent and proceeded to adjust his shoulder holster tight. Tony snorted out loud. “Hell no! I may not know them for long, but none of the Avengers are related to HYDRA in any way!” The Gothamite shrugged into his jacket and cast his fiancé a stern look.

It softened, however, at the sight of Tony's disheveled hair. Against better judgment, Bruce allowed himself to reach out and try to smother the thick, wavy strands. “Even if not, SHIELD's days are numbered. Something's more than wrong, and until I'm sure what it is, I've got to stay on my toes. And on my own.” From where he had leaned into the gentle, caressing touches, Tony blinked up at him, skeptical.  
  
“You think I can just let you go like that? Alone? Facing whatever hell you know nothing about?”  
  
His sturdy fingers reached up to brush against one of those chiseled, high cheekbones. Bruce dug into a secured little pocket inside his jacket. Something glinted in the faint light of the bedside lamp. Something Tony identified as his engagement ring, dangling from a silver chain. He swallowed hard as he watched Bruce slip the chain over his head, to hide the ring under his shirt.

“You can, because you know I'm able to defend myself.” Tony grumbled against his mouth as he tugged at Bruce's lapels. “I know that now. But it doesn't make things better. At all. Only worse.” The gaze Bruce cast him was as intense as his grip around both of Tony's shoulders. “You know I'll come back for you. Always. As soon as I can.” The final kiss they shared was full of passion, persistence, and promises.

“You'd better, Colonel Wayne. Remember you still owe me a wedding.”

  
THE END (?)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had way too much fun with this verse. Chances are good I'll come back for these two sooner or later. Picturing Bale's "Equilibrium" character as Dark!Bruce Wayne roughing up SHIELD with RDJ's BAMF!Tony Stark by his side is just too good to ignore! Thanks to anyone who read, subscribed, commented and kudo'ed - you guys rock, seriously!


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